shippen



M. H. SHIPPEN Feb. 14, 1956 DISPENSER FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES THAT EMPLOYS A PAIR OF ROLLERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 13, 1953 Mary H. Sh/ppen IN VEN TOR.

Feb. 14, 1956 M. H. SHIPPEN 2,734,662

DISPENSER FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES THAT EMPLOYS A PAIR OF ROLLERS Eiled Feb. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

72 72 78 68 48 Mary H. Sh/ppen 36 W 38 45 70 Z INVENTOR.

76 74 7 BY 5 J Ammq:

DISPENSER FOR COLLAPSIBLE'TUBES THAT ENIPLOYS A PAIR OF ROLLERS Mary H. Shippen, Lost Springs, Wyo.

Application February 13, 1953, Serial No. 336,684 14 Claims. (Cl. 222102) This invention relates to a dispenser for collapsible tubes and more particularly to a device which may be readily installed in a bathroom or washroom for dispensing products such as toothpaste, shaving cream, or the like which are sold and marketed in collapsible metallic tubes.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a dispenser for products packaged in collapsible tubes which is adaptable for use with various sizes of tubes and which includes means for positively sealingthe mouth of the tube after the requisite quantity of the contents thereof have been discharged.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a dispenser for collapsible tubes that employs a pair of positively actuated rollers for compressing the tube adjacent the end thereof remote from the mouth, the rollers bein actuated by movement of the lid of the dispenser, the squeezing pressure exerted by the rollers being terminated when the lid is replaced closing the dispenser.

Still further objects and features of the invention reside in the provision of a dispenser for collapsible tubes that is strong and durable, simple in construction and manufacture, capable of being readily installed on any convenient vertical surface, and which is highly attractive in appearance while being relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These, together with the various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this dispenser for collapsible tubes, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view as taken along the plane of line 22 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view as taken along the plane of line 3-3 in Figure 2 showing the dispenser with the front portion of the casing thereof removed;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view as taken along the plane of 4-4 in Figure 3 showing in particular the manner in which the rollers engage a collapsible tube;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the lid, legs, and yoke which are pivotally attached to each other and which form important elements of this invention;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the bottom portion of the casing together with the plurality of annularly spaced supporting wedges; and,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the roller means used in compressing the collapsible tubes.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral 10 generally designates the dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising the present invention which includes a casing 12 formed of any desired exterior configuration in order to insure a highly attractive and merchandisable device.

nited States Patent "ice The casing 12 is provided with vertically extending grooves 13 and 15 on the side walls thereof. The casing 12 is provided with a bottom wall 14 which has a discharge aperture 16 formed therein. A shoulder 18 is formed in the casing 12 above the bottom 14 for supporting a plate 20 on which a plurality of wedge shaped plates 22 are secured. The plate 20 is provided with an aperture 24 therethrough through which the neck 26 of a collapsible tube 28 extends. Each of the wedge shaped plates as can be best seen in Figure 6 extend in annularly spaced relationship about the aperture 24 and about the aperture 16 which is in alignment with the aperture 24. These plates 22 are wedge shaped in order to insure that the truncated conical portion 30 of the tube 28 will be supported in a manner so as to insure against crushing the tube.

The dispenser it) is further provided with a lid 32 for closing the open upper end of the casing. A handle or knob 34 may be provided on the lid 32 if desired and legs 36 and 38 are pivotally attached to the lid 32. The legs 36 and 38 are apertured at their lowermost ends as at 40 and 42 and means to be further described are used for pivotally attaching a yoke 44 to the legs 36 and 38. The yoke 44 includes vertically extending portions 46 and 48 interconnected by a lower connecting portion 50 carrying a disk 52 on which there is mounted a foam or sponge rubber pad 54 which is adapted to extend through aperture 16 in the bottom 14 so as to engage the mouth 26 of the collapsible tube 28 and seal the tube 28.

A mounting block 56 is provided and secured to the rear wall 53 of the casing the mounting block having a plurality of fasteners 60 secured thereto which hold clamp member 62 which carry threadedly adjustable clamping members 64 having a wing-type head 66 or other suitable handle means. In this manner the end of the tube is clampingly held against the block 56 and supported by the'wedges 22.

There are provided a pair of rollers 63 and 70 which are rotatably mounted on shafts 72 and 74. The shafts are joined at their ends by means of rivets 76 or any other suitable means after the shafts have been shaped to form complementary semi-cylindrical ends 78 and 80 respectively. These semi-cylindrical ends 73 and 80 thus form single shafts or pins which extend through the apertures 40 and 42 in the legs 36 and 38 and through aligned apertures 82 and 84 in the yoke 44. In this manner the legs 36 and 38 are pivotally attached to the yoke 44.

With a tube 28 clampingly held against the block 56 and extending through the aperture 24 in the plate 20, the lid 32 may be rotated downwardly as is shown in the dotted lines in Figure 2. Then, a further downward force upon the lid 32 will cause the rollers 68 and 70 to compress the tube 28. This will cause some of the contents of the tube 28 to be discharged. It is to be noted that when the lid 32 is lowered the yoke 44 together with the pad 54 will be lowered an equivalent amount. This will in turn permit the toothbrush or other receiving instruments or rim to be inserted beneath the bottom 14 and to catch the substance dispensed. Then, the lid may be returned to its normal position as is shown in Figure l at which time the pad 54 will be urged into abutting engagement over the neck 26 of the tube 28. This will seal the tube 23 and further provide means for insuring that the substance within the tube 28 will always be free to be discharged, any caking or drying out of the substance being prevented by the pad 54.

Since from the foregoing, the construction and advantages of this dispenser for collapsible tubes are readily apparent, further description is believed to be unnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and accompanying drawings, 7

it is not intended to limit the invention to the precise embodiment shown and described, but all suitable modifications and equivalents may be readily resorted to as desired.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs.

2. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block.

3. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

4. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

5. A dispenser for collapsible tubescomprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, and a resilient pad secured to said yoke for sealing said aperture.

6. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, and a resilient pad secured to said yoke for sealing said aperture, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block.

7. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, and a resilient pad secured to said yoke for sealing said aperture, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

8. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, and, a resilient pad secured to, said yoke for sealing said aperture, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

9. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs.

10. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs, said roller means comprising a pair of shafts, rollers on said shafts adapted to engage a collapsible tube therebetween, said shafts having bend portions and having angularly converging portions terminating in reverse bend portions to offset the ends of said shafts relative to the rest of said shafts with said ends being inmediately adjacent each other, said ends of said shafts each having a portion thereof removed therefrom and being semicylindrical in shape, said semi-cylindrical ends being joined to each other with the flat sides of said semi-cylilrlidfrical ends in contact thereby forming a cylindrical s a t.

11. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs, said roller means comprising a pair of shafts, rollers on said shafts adapted to engage a collapsible tube therebetween, said shafts having bend portions and having angularly converging portions terminating in reverse bend portions to offset the ends of said shafts relative to the rest of said shafts with said ends being immediately adjacent each other, ends of said shafts having a portion thereof removed therefrom and being semi-cylindrical in shape, said semi-cylindrical ends being joined to each other with the flat sides of said semi-cylindrical ends in contact thereby forming a cylindrical shaft, said casing hat/ ing a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block.

12. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top. and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs, said roller means comprising a pair of shafts, rollers on said shafts adapted to engage a collapsible tube therebetween, said shafts having bend portions and having angularly con verging portions terminating. in reverse bend portions to offset theends of saidshafts relative to the rest of said shafts with said ends being immediately adjacent each other, said ends of said shafts having a portion thereof removed therefrom and being semi-cylindrical in shape, said semi-cylindrical ends being joined to each other with the flat sides of said semi-cylindrical ends in contact thereby forming a cylindrical shaft, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

13. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, a pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs, said roller means comprising a pair of shafts, rollers on said shafts adapted to engage a collapsible tube therebetween, said shafts having bend portions and having angularly converging portions terminating on reverse bend portions to offset the ends of said shafts relative to the rest of said shafts with said ends being immediately adjacent each other, said ends of said shafts having a portion thereof removed therefrom and being semi-cylindrical in shape, said semi-cylindrical ends being joined to each other with the flat sides of said semi-cylindrical ends in contact thereby forming a cylindrical shaft, said casing having a supporting block therein, and clamp members attached to said block for clamping a collapsible tube against said block, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container, and a resilient pad secured to said yoke for sealing said aperture.

14. A dispenser for collapsible tubes comprising a casing open at the top and having a discharge aperture in the bottom thereof, a lid for covering said top of said casing, 21 pair of legs pivotally attached to said lid, a yoke pivotally attached to said legs adapted to underly said aperture, and roller means rotatably carried by said legs, said legs and said yoke having aligned apertures therethrough, said roller means extending through said aligned apertures to pivotally mount said yoke on said legs, and a plurality of wedge shaped collapsible tube supporting plates annularly spaced about said aperture and supported by said bottom of said container.

No references cited. 

